Tag: barcelona

Ricciardo Takes the Honour on Second Day of Barcelona Test

Daniel Ricciardo finished on top of the time sheets for Red Bull on the second day of the second pre-season test in Barcelona.

Ricciardo set his time of 1:24.574 just before the lunch break on the soft compound tyres. This time stood for the rest of the day. Second for the day was Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen who was just 0.010s off Ricciardo’s pace. Third for the day was Williams’ Felipe Massa who was just 0.098s off the pace. It was very close at the top today with the top three just separated by 0.1s.

Sergio Perez ended his day in 4th with a time of 1:24.702 for Force India. Lewis Hamilton who was not scheduled to drive today got behind the wheel of the W06 in the afternoon session and managed 5th fastest for the day and also managed to complete and impressive 89 laps despite not feeling well. Nico Rosberg drove the morning session and was 6th fastest for the day. He handed over to Hamilton so as to not further aggravate his inflamed nerve on his neck.

Despite the ERS issue on the McLaren, Fernando Alonso managed to complete 59 laps today with his fastest being a 1:25.961. Although well off the pace of the front running cars it is encouraging news for the Woking outfit and for Honda.

Jolyon Palmer had his debut for Lotus today. He finished 8 fastest. Marcus Ericsson finished 9th for Sauber and Carlos Sainz Jr finishing the slowest on the day. Sainz Jr clocked up 100 laps today despite a big off at the very fast T9 right hander.

It was a very strong showing from Red Bull, Williams and Ferrari. Although they may not show it, Mercedes are becoming increasingly weary about the pace of those three teams and will be watching them closely. There is no doubt that the other teams have stepped up their game but something tells me we have not yet seen the absolute pace of the Mercedes cars just yet.

Below are the unofficial times from day 2 of the second pre-season test:

Photo Credit: Infinity Red Bull Racing Formula 1 Team

February 20, 2015
F1 2015: Why you can read into F1 testing

For as long as cars have been running around test tracks, most have warned against reading too much into the pre-season. It is, after all, just that, a test. Teams truck their way to European race tracks with their new cars and set about an examination and assessment of what exactly the engineers and designers have rustled up.

The first roll-out of the cars is closely observed by millions of fans who scour the internet and fervently stalk their favourite forums for the most minute updates and details. Sky F1, for example, sends a whole team of journalists to these sessions to document every move that the teams make. Yet, the warnings that the times at the end of the day don’t mean anything subsist.

These warnings though aren’t necessarily always applicable. For one, should the goings-on from Jerez be disregarded you would fail to notice that Ferrari has made an enormous improvement from last year. Okay, it wouldn’t exactly be hard to build a better car than last season’s F14T which was a colossal waste of carbon fibre. But Sauber, who also runs with Ferrari power, has confirmed that the new power unit is a substantial step forward from the Italian manufacturer’s first attempt at the hybrid-turbo engines.

What’s more, Kimi Raikkonen has said that he finds the handling of this car much better and to his liking. Let’s be honest the ever aloof and not-so-media-friendly Raikkonen will hardly be the type of guy to provide a sound bite just for the sake of it. Now, Ferrari hasn’t suddenly transformed into world beaters but they may just be on to something with the SF15T.

The telltale, good, signs from testing would be stacks of laps and reliability. Here the Mercedes W06 is still way ahead of the curve. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton both completed nearly two full race simulations a day at Jerez. They set about completing their testing program in an ominously reserved manner. There were no proclamations that they were, again, going to blow-away the competition. There was just lap after lap of a car which can seemingly keep going forever.

Even in testing where the laptimes don’t mean that much there is still the odd team/driver who’ll take out the fuel and set a flashy time. It happens for various reasons not least of all to attract a bit of media attention and please the suits that put up the sponsorship cash. The longer runs are what you want to pay attention to. The consistency in laptimes is an important barometer. The more consistent the time, the more it suggests a predictable car. The reasoning then is that the more confidence a driver has in the car’s behaviour the more assured he’ll be in pushing it around the lap.

While what happens at testing isn’t an out-and-out pecking order for the season there is much to learn from it. The next area is the press statements made by drivers. Yes, they get coached to the hilt but sometimes they do reveal a kernel of telling information. At Toro Rosso the engineers and owners are completely infatuated with Max Verstappen who they have dubbed the next Ayrton Senna. It’s noticeable in the Verstappen-obsessed chatter that they don’t talk much about their car which looks a bit of a handful.

The most entertaining and puzzling statements have come from McLaren. New-old driver Fernando Alonso has declared himself impressed with Honda’s “scientific approach.” What did Ferrari use, witchcraft? Once more we see an attempt to deflect from what has been a pretty poor start for the McLaren-Honda alliance. Better that this be the headline than the handful of installation laps they were able to complete at Jerez.

So, there is after all much to glean from testing. Pay attention to the press statements and what they try to detract attention from. Forget about the flashy-headline-grabbing-laptime and instead study the longer runs and determine how consistent the laptimes are. The second test takes place at the Barcelona circuit from the 19^th to the 22^nd of February.

February 17, 2015
Pirelli – Full statement over Mercedes tyre test

Pirelli also issued a statement today about the three day test carried out in Barcelona with the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.

Here is the full statement:

Milan, 31 May 2013 – Pirelli, in development testing with teams carried out in 2013, has not favoured any teams and, as always, acted professionally, with transparency and in absolute good faith. The tyres used were not from the current championship but belonged to a range of products still being developed in view of an eventual renewal of the supply contract. Further, none of the tests were carried for the purpose of enhancing specific cars, but only to test tyre solutions for future championships. The use of the car utilized by Mercedes, in particular, was the result of direct communication between FIA and the team itself. Pirelli did not ask in any way that a 2013 car be used: not of Mercedes nor Fia nor the teams which, during the year, were offered the opportunity of participating in tests for the development of tyres for 2014. The tyres that will be tested by the teams in the free practice at the Montreal Grand Prix have never been used by the teams before. With regard to the new tyres, the problem of delamination has been solved by Pirelli’s technicians exclusively through laboratory testing. Delamination, which only occurred on four occasions and always because of on-track detritus, has never put the drivers’ safety at risk, but does risk harming Pirelli’s image. This is why the company decided to intervene.

With regard to the rules which govern its conduct, the company has always respected the contractual limits which bind it to the FIA, teams and championship’s organizers, and has always respected the principles of sporting loyalty.

Pirelli, however, feels the need to reaffirm the indisputable need to carry out tests for the development of tyres which are adequate and regulated by rules which are clear and shared by all the interested parties. The company confirms its availability, as communicated to the teams many times in the past, to organize tests for the development of tyres for 2014 with all the teams in the championship.

PIRELLI’S ANSWERS TO FIA

With regard to requests for information received from FIA, Pirelli promptly provided the answers needed to clarify what happened at the tests, as far as its own responsibilities went.

DEVELOPMENT TESTS FOR 2014 TYRES WERE OFFERED TO ALL: NO FAVOURTISM

The tests were conducted in observance of the contract between Pirelli and FIA, which gives the supplier the possibility of carrying out tests for the development of tyres with each team of up to 1,000 kilometres, without specifying the type of car to be used, nor sanctioning the simultaneous presence of all the teams for the running of the tests. In this regard, Pirelli has since 2010 made it clear that it is neither possible nor useful to carry out this type of test with all the teams simultaneously. In fact, this type of testing aimed at technological development and researching new solutions, involves many tyres of different types which must be tested with a single car at a time. Testing for championship specifications is different, as occurs in winter testing which require the participation of all the teams, so as to find the most satisfying solutions for all the cars in the competition. For this reason, Pirelli insists on the need for winter testing under conditions which are truly representative of the situations which will be met during the championship.

Already in March 2012, Pirelli sent an email to all the teams, FIA and FOM, inviting the teams to indicate their availability for testing for the development of tyres for 2013. Further, the company explained that it was necessary to conduct the tests with the teams’ cars because it did not have a suitable one of its own (Pirelli has the use of an adapted 2010 Renault and, before that, a 2009 Toyota).

The invitation was subsequently repeated in various official contexts and repeated to some teams last March for the development of tyres for 2014.

THE TEST CONDUCTED IN BARCELONA WAS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TYRES FOR 2014 AND NOT FOR THE MODIFICATION OF 2013 SPECIFICATIONS

This test, as always, carried out with a single compound never used in a championship, regarded structures not in use in the current season and not destined to be used later during the 2013 season. The tyre tests were conducted “in the dark”, which means that the teams had no information on which specifications were being tested or about the goal of the testing; nor did they receive any type of information afterwards.

May 31, 2013
Formula 1 2013: Mercedes in secret tyre test row

The Formula 1 paddock is deeply unhappy after it was revealed that rivals Mercedes had conducted a three-day 1000 kilometer tyre test after the Spanish GP.

There has been nowhere for Mercedes to hide on raceday as the team faded badly due to excessive tyre wear throughout the last few grand prix. However, a secret testing session has undoubtedly boosted not only Mercedes’ ability to understand their problems but also given them an advantage over their rivals.

It has come to light that Pirelli had requested the Brackley based team’s help to work through issues the tyre manufacturer had been suffering in the last several races. Despite the ban on in-season testing Pirelli are allowed to call on one team, for a private test, to assist them with their product. Nevertheless, the other teams are less than happy about Mercedes, a team with clear tyre issues, recieving what they consider an unfair advantage. The matter has now been taken up with the FIA.

Team principal Ross Brawn said that his team had been working tirelessly on their issues with the Pirelli tyres since Barcelona – 1000 secret kilometers of tireless work it seems Ross.

May 26, 2013
Formula 1 – 2013 Spanish Grand Prix: Fabulous Fernando tops in Spain

It would be easy to say that Fernando Alonso’s victory at the Spanish grand prix was effortless and uncomplicated.

In reality it was the way he blitzed the start that set up his afternoon. A fifth place on the grid would have been considered below par for the Spaniard but the Ferrari driver always had his mind fully focused on the race.

A surprise attack from Mercedes had Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton locking out the front row of the grid but the questions about their race performances would linger despite a complete domination of qualifying. Cautiously optimistic would have been the best way to describe Rosberg and Hamilton and with good reason. While Rosberg was able to momentarily hold off a charging Alonso and Sebastian Vettel teammate Hamilton was hastily shuffled through the pack. It wasn’t long before the same fate was dealt to Rosberg and after the first round of pitstops the two Mercedes boys ran the Spanish GP in relative obscurity. A forlorn radio message from Hamilton bemoaning the fact that he had been passed a Williams summed up the entire mood of the Silver Arrows camp. Mercedes’ race performance was no match for their qualifying domination as the team yet again endured a race day shattered by their ever present tyre wear issues.

You could call this victory commanding, controlled or even dominant but what it was, was vintage Fernando Alonso. From fifth on the grid he nearly surged into the lead of the race passing Hamilton around the outside of turn three along the way. He expertly managed a four stop strategy and clinically overtook when it was most needed. On lap fourteen he seized the lead of the race and meticulously powered his way to career victory number 32. To further underline the skill of the man it was confirmed that Alonso made the final pitstop of his race with a slow puncture thrown into the mix; though Ferrari maintain that it never put the race victory in jeopardy.

Logically, consistently scoring points is the right way to go about winning a world championship. But when you are Kimi Raikkonen, someone made to win races, second place can become a bit boring. “It’s only 5 races. We are here to win races and championships. I want to win, the team wants to win. 2nd is disappointing,” said Raikkonen. You wouldn’t expect anything less from a natural born racer.

Felipe Massa’s race performances continue to improve after the Brazilian overcame a three place grid penalty to finish on the third step of the podium. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber could only manage fourth and fifth as the current world champion placed the blame for Red Bull’s lack of performance squarely on the Pirelli tyres. “We are not going to the pace of the car, we are going to the pace of the tyre,” said Vettel.

Nico Rosberg was able to salvage sixth place from his pole position start but Lewis Hamilton was limited to twelfth. Paul di Resta snuck his Force India into seventh while McLaren, who had pinned much of their hopes on an upgrade package rolled out this weekend, delivered an improved performance. Still not delivering to the standard they would want Button finished in eighth ahead of Sergio Perez in ninth. Daniel Ricciardo did one better than his gridslot to finish in tenth place.

Thirteen years ago Fernando Alonso made his debut in Formula 1 with the Minardi team; since then he’s won two world titles and taken numerous breathtaking victories and through it all he has become one of the most impeccable drivers and certainly one of the hardest to beat.

May 12, 2013
Fernando Alonso commands the Bulls in Barcelona – Spanish Grand Prix Results

Fernando Alonso brought the Spanish crowd into sheer ecstasy when he beat the rest of the field to take the win in Barcelona.

He finished ahead of Kimi Raikkonen with what really was a commanding lead.

Team mate Felipe Massa finished third to take the final spot on the podium for his first podium of the season.

Here are the full Spanish Grand Prix Results.

Full race review to follow.

May 12, 2013
Mercedes steal pole position in Barcelona F1 Qualifying

Not many would have predicted that Mercedes would steal the pole position today in Barcelona F1 Qualifying, but they did.

After FP3 this morning, it looked almost certain that either Ferrari or Lotus would lock out the front row but it was the German Mercedes team that took the honours.

Rosberg delivered two amazing qualifying laps, both good enough to take the pole position. Lewis Hamilton was forced to settle for second place 0.254 seconds adrift of his team mate.

Sebastian Vettel placed his RB9 in third place for Red Bull Racing, followed by the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen.

Fernando Alonso only managed 5th place at his home qualifying with his team mate Felipe Massa behind him in 6th place. Massa however will have to see the stewards later today for impeding Mark Webber during Q2.

Romain Grosjean put his Lotus in 7th place, ahead of Webber.

The McLaren team are not having the greatest weekend of all. Perez did however manage a last minute surge to qualify 7th but team mate Jenson Button only managed to qualify 14th.

Esteban Gutierrez will be seeing the stewards too after impeding Kimi Raikkonen and Button also complained that he was held up “massively” by Maldonado but both the Massa and Gutierrez incidents seemed far more severe in comparison.

Giedo van der Garde is a very happy man at the back of the grid after qualifying at the front of the bottom four, a triumph for the rookie driver.

Here are the full time sheets for today’s Barcelona F1 Qualifying session:

Pos Driver                Team/Car              Time         Gap

1. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m20.718s

2. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes              1m20.972s + 0.254s

3. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m21.054s + 0.336s

4. Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         1m21.177s + 0.459s

5. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m21.218s + 0.500s

6. Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m21.219s + 0.501s

7. Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault         1m21.308s + 0.590s

8. Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m21.570s + 0.852s

9. Sergio Perez          McLaren-Mercedes      1m22.069s + 1.351s

10. Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m22.233s + 1.515s

11. Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m22.127s + 1.126s

12. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m22.166s + 1.165s

13. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m22.346s + 1.345s

14. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m23.166s + 2.165s

15. Nico Hulkenberg       Sauber-Ferrari        1m22.389s + 1.388s

16. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari        1m22.793s + 1.792s

17. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault      1m23.260s + 1.532s

18. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m23.318s + 1.590s

19. Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault      1m24.661s + 2.933s

20. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Cosworth     1m24.713s + 2.985s

21. Max Chilton           Marussia-Cosworth     1m24.996s + 3.268s

22. Charles Pic           Caterham-Renault      1m25.070s + 3.342s

May 11, 2013
Spanish F1 Grand Prix FP3 Results Timesheet

Felipe Massa went fastest during the final practice session in Barcelona this morning. He inched just 0.006 seconds ahead of Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen.

The biggest losers this session were certainly McLaren who seem to really be struggling despite all the upgrades they brought along to Barcelona so it really seems like it’s back to the drawing board for them.

Here is the full Spanish F1 Grand Prix FP3 Results Timesheet:

May 11, 2013
Weather Report for the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix

This weekend Formula 1 returns to Europe and as always Barcelona marks the beginning of the European season.

Showers are predicted for Friday practice but it should clear up and remain partly cloudy for the rest of the weekend.

May 8, 2013
Formula One 2013 Spanish GP Preview: Who will gain in Spain?

In the world of motorsport there is no shortage of Spanish sporting heroes. The current crop of Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marques and their domination of MotoGP is testament to the fact.

Spain may be smitten with MotoGP but it was Fernando Alonso who transformed this country’s interest in Formula 1 from mild curiosity to full blown infatuation. In 2005 the then Renault driver, Fernando Alonso, whipped the crowd into a frenzy as he stepped out in his home region of Asturias as the country’s first F1 champion. He would repeat the feat in 2006 and tag to his double glory a career as one of the most respected and revered Formula 1 drivers of his generation.

A different fairytale was written into the history books at last year’s Spanish GP as Williams returned to the very top of the sport they once dominated. An outstanding race and dogged determination accounted for Venezuela’s Pastor Maldonado first ever Formula 1 race victory. Replicating his deed in 2013 may be a bridge to far for Maldonado and his Williams team.

Nevertheless, a spirited battle there will be throughout the sixty-six laps around the Circuit de Catalunya. Sixteen corners in total are dotted throughout the 4.655 km lap and a mixture of medium to high speed corners typifies its layout. The first two sectors of the lap are characterised by high speed corners with the third sector offering a more technical and slower combination of corners.

If it hasn’t yet been in the headlines enough this season the Pirelli tyres will once again be a point of focus this weekend. Tyre wear around the Barcelona circuit has been described as ‘challenging’ and similar to what was seen in Bahrain. But after taking more than a little heat from several teams Pirelli have changed their hard compound tyres in time for Spanish GP. “This latest version of the hard compound is much closer to the 2012 tyre, with the aim of giving the teams more opportunity to run a wider range of strategies in combination with the other compounds, which remain unchanged,” Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said.

The Catalan circuit is regularly used as a testing venue by the majority of the field which makes any advantage especially hard to come by. As the first European race of the season it makes traveling and logistics a much simpler task; hence the rolling out of highly expected upgrades this weekend. “The start of the so-called European season – where many teams unleash a raft of their latest upgrades – could shake up the order somewhat,” predicted Lotus technical director, James Allison. “What do we have in the upgrade cupboard for Catalunya? Nothing revolutionary, but plenty which should help us go faster. We have new front wing end plate detailing, new aero around the rear drums, modifications to the diffuser and a different top rear wing so there’s plenty to help keep us in the hunt,” he continued.

The gap on the points table between Sebastian Vettel and second-placed Kimi Raikkonen currently stands at ten points. But if Lotus and Raikkonen and the rest of the likely challengers want to make a serious bid for the title the gap must be narrowed and Vettel’s strong start to the season tempered.

There are not many things that can be controlled in Formula 1. Mechanical failures, a rival’s rash overtaking manoeuvre, weather and even car performance are all potential uncontrollable factors. Naturally it makes those aspects that can be controlled all the more important. Clinically performed pit stops, a perfectly executed pull-away, lightning quick reactions can all, reasonably, be controlled. And if you add a supremely fast and confident Ferrari loaded Fernando Alonso to this mix it should be a winning combination, shouldn’t it?

May 7, 2013